Archive for September, 2018

Hadoop is an open source distributed processing framework that is commonly used to process and store big data. Not only does it store but also helps in running applications on clusters of commodity hardware.

Software solutions like Hadoop have become a necessity for businesses that store & use big data due to its ability to store & process massive amounts of data. A classic feature of Hadoop is that it can handle both structured & unstructured data thus providing enhanced flexibility to users.

Reasons To Implement Hadoop

Massive Storage – With big data increasing rapidly, there was a need for a software solution that could handle large volumes of data. Hadoop has solved that problem with its ability to hold enormous amount of data. The data is often split into blocks and then stored in clusters.

Scalability – You wish to have the ability to handle more data? No problem, with Hadoop you can do that easily and that too without any hassle. With little administration Hadoop allows you to add more nodes easily.

Flexibility – Hadoop enables you to store as much data as you want whether it is structured or unstructured, formatted or encoded or in any other form. So apart from text you can store images, videos, etc. Also, with Hadoop you are not required to process data before storing it, thus making it relevant as well as simple to use.

Computing – Its computing model helps in processing large amounts of data easily. The arithmetic is simple; more the nodes, more the processing power that you have.

Fault Tolerance – Hadoop is fault tolerant i.e. it protects the data in case of any hardware failure. When a node gets lost or goes down, Hadoop framework redirects the task/work to another node to avoid any disruption. Also Hadoop keeps a duplicate copy of data which is then stored in different clusters.

More Real Time – It allows you to store information into a cluster and analyze it in real time. It provides a standard approach to numerous API’s for big data analytics.

Cost Effective – It uses commodity hardware to store data which leads to reduction in cost per terabyte of storage.

Information is often broken into smaller units when it is transmitted over the computer network. These small units known as data packets are fragmented at the sender’s node and are reassembled in their original format at the receiver’s node.

Every data packet has to cross a number of traffic control devices such as routers & switches. However, the data packet is susceptible to the risk of being captured each time it crosses these control devices. This act of collecting data packets illegally by hackers is known as packet sniffing. Hackers often use specialized devices
known as packet sniffers to do so.

How Does A Packet Sniffer Work?
A packet sniffer can exist in the form of software or hardware specifically designed to collect the data being transmitted over the network. They intercept & log network traffic with the help of wired or wireless network interface it has an access to. Hackers might use it to capture:

User names

Passwords

Downloaded files

Emails

Audio & video activity

Other sensitive information

An illegal packet sniffer is installed somewhere on the network without the knowledge of an IT administrator to gain unauthorized access to confidential information. Hackers also use sniffers to eavesdrop on unencrypted data to spy and checkout information being exchanged between the two parties and use it for their benefit.

Types Of Packet Sniffing

There are 3 types of packet sniffing, let us understand how they work:

IP Sniffing – It uses the network card to sniff all information packets that correspond with the IP address filter. These information packets are all used for analysis and examination.

MAC Sniffing – It also works through a network card and sniffs away the information packets that correspond to MAC address filter.

ARP Sniffing – In this type of sniffing, information packets are sent to the administrator through the ARP cache of both network hosts. The traffic is forwarded to the administrator directly instead of sending it to the hosts.

How To Protect Yourself From Packet Sniffing?

Use VPN – VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections provide complete privacy and secure your computer’s internet connection. It makes sure that all the data you are sending and receiving is encrypted & secured.

Always Check the HTTPS – Make sure that the websites that you visit have an HTTPS in its URL. Having it in the URL ensures that the website is safe to use.

Be Cautious – The risk of packet sniffing rises when a device is connected to a public Wi-Fi network. So be highly cautious of the websites you visit when you are on that network. Avoid doing financial transactions, entering sensitive information etc.

It often seems easy and convenient to make ticket bookings and hotel reservations online. However one has to be highly cautious while doing so to avoid falling prey to a cyber fraud. Since ticket & travel scams are quite common these days, it is important to be vigilant in order to stay protected from numerous travel websites which are tricking people by selling fake tickets.

Here are some most common ways in which a ticket and travel scam is done:

Free Or Discounted Vacation – The victim is often sent an email with a congratulatory message that they have won a vacation travel & stay for free or at a discounted rate but they will be required to pay a small fee or provide their credit card details in order to claim the offer.

Vacation Ticket Re-Sell Scam – Sometimes the victim falls prey to an ad posted by someone who claims to have purchased a ticket but wishes to re-sell it due to inability to go for the trip because of some personal reasons. Thus, the victim is fooled by an offer of getting tickets at a much lower fare.

Location Scam – Fraudsters post an ad of a vacation rental or hotel and when an interested person clicks on it to make the bookings, they are often asked for some security deposit or sometimes even the full amount. However, all their excitement and zeal to spend a perfect vacation goes off when they reach the booked destination and find that no such place exists and that they have been scammed.

Tips To Avoid The Scam:

Be Cautious – Look out for hints while scrolling through a website. Most likely a website that does not have an about and contact page would be a scam site. Also check that the URL has ‘https’ to make sure that it is a secure website.

Check Reviews Online – To know if the website is safe to use or not, make sure that you check their social media profiles, reviews, blog posts etc. because it is highly unlikely for a fake website to put in efforts for building up all fake reviews and social media handles.

Use A Credit Card – Credit cards are more secure than debit cards as they do not allow direct access to your bank account and are at a better position when it comes to protection from fraudulent activities.

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Author

Abdul Subhani

I am the President & CEO of
Centex Technologies Microsoft Small Business Specialist, Certified E-Commerce Consultant, Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Fraud Examiner, Virtual Instructor and an IT Consultant/Speaker on IT Security, Networking, Small Business Architect, & SEO Internet Marketing.

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